


is it love if i can set you free

by wonhaosalts



Series: high school is hell, but we navigate it well [1]
Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Alternate Universe - High School, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Mostly Fluff, Student Council, Unrequited Love, mentions of like illegal substances but no one actl takes them, or maybe its not, svt are Good Boys dw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-16
Updated: 2018-01-16
Packaged: 2019-03-05 16:06:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,394
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13391370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wonhaosalts/pseuds/wonhaosalts
Summary: The 5 times Junhui debunks the many (and frankly, quite unflattering) rumours surrounding the infamous school delinquent Xu Minghao, and the 1 time Junhui uncovers a fact for himself.Or,The story where Junhui accidentally gives Minghao’s new motorcycle an accidental paint job when he trips, and he ends up owing the younger boy 3 favours, which means spending more time with him than he ever thought he would.





	is it love if i can set you free

**Author's Note:**

> im finally posting after a whole year wow uhh. its kind of self indulgent bc i love the student council x delinquent trope can we have more of those here
> 
> everyone's hair is baksu era. gotta love blonde hao
> 
> ALSO THIS ISNT BETA-ED YET lol i'll edit it one day

**_Rumour #1: Touch any of Xu Minghao’s belongings and he’ll beat you to a pulp (especially his motorcycle)._ **

 

To have been very honest, Junhui wasn’t sure how he got accepted into the student council. His grades were just a little higher than average at most, and he supposed he always did his best to stay out of trouble, although he had accumulated a couple of detentions over the years. 

 

Visuals couldn’t have been a criteria for the student council, though he was more confident in his looks than any of his other qualities. Signing up had been on a whim too — he only wrote his name down on the list because his best friend Wonwoo did too, and sometimes you only do things because your friends don’t want to be alone. So he didn’t actually expect to be called to the council room with Wonwoo shortly after, the student council president Seungcheol announcing their roles as secretary and treasurer respectively. 

 

He supposed the role wasn’t that much of a hassle. Despite the many rumours surrounding him for being a playboy and a party animal due to his _(not bragging)_ incredibly stunning looks, he was actually quite the opposite. If he wasn’t buried in his books for the endless quizzes and exams, he would simply be focusing on his own dancing. That was more than enough to keep him occupied, and the title of ‘student council secretary’ did help to clean his reputation up a bit among unsuspecting girls who almost always assumed he was a worse version of himself.

 

Also, apart from weekly meetings, the workload was only occasionally heavy. Like right now. _Literally_. 

 

The annual club showcase came with a ton of logistical needs for each club’s preparations, and the student council was especially in charge of the school banner. And since Junhui was the secretary, Seungcheol had _very_ kindly asked him to carry the required paint tins, brushes and cloth from the slightly dilapidated shed at the back of the school all the way back to the student council room. 

 

Which explained Junhui’s current position, struggling to maintain his grip on three giant paint tins while trying to balance multiple brushes and cloth on top of it all, doing his utmost not to be crushed under the weight of it all, as he very slowly and torturously made his way back. Seungcheol had definitely miscalculated the manpower required, but Junhui could make it. (Probably).

 

It was a miracle that he had even survived thus far, and had made it halfway across the route, but he was currently inching along a slightly neglected corner of the school’s carpark. 

 

From the corner of his eye, which was being half blocked by a cup of brushes, Junhui spotted a very familiar motorcycle parked in one of the lots. Sleek, spray painted a metallic jet black, with streaks of red around the wheels and on the sides. 

 

Eyes widening and gulping quite visibly, he scanned the empty carpark to see if its owner was currently in the vicinity. Not seeing _him_ anywhere nearby, Junhui let out a breath he hadn’t even realised he had been holding before hefting the paint tins higher and securing his grip around them once more before attempting to almost run with them. 

 

Everybody in the school knew who that motorcycle belonged to, and not for a very good reason. He was known to be the school’s delinquent, since he usually showed up to school late and was never seen without a bruise on his body. Rumours floating around always whispered that he was part of the mafia, or that he helped sell illegal substances, or that he belonged to a group of thugs, and Junhui wasn’t sure what was the truth. He just knew that _his_ actions were tolerated because his father was an important investor in the school campus development.

 

He had interacted with _him_ before, and he wasn’t all that they made him out to be. Albeit, that had been a couple of years back when he had just transferred to the school and Junhui was asked to show him around for being the only other Chinese boy in Pledis at that time. Despite the cold exterior that the younger boy wore, glaring at almost anyone who crossed his path, Junhui could have sworn that he was secretly a very sensitive and … dare he say it, good-natured guy. He couldn’t vouch for more, though, since he never really spoke to the other boy after their short interaction time ended. 

 

But people often changed like the seasons, only more abruptly, so Junhui wouldn’t have known if he had _actually_ started to carry out dubious after-school activities, and he didn’t exactly want to take the chance of bumping into him doing transactions.

 

However, fate seemed to have something against Junhui, because just as he wobbled near the motorcycle, he stepped on an inconveniently, _stupidly_ placed rock, which set him off kilter and caused him to trip, dropping every single logistic he had been asked to carry up. 

 

Right. Junhui officially hated rocks.

 

“Ah, shit…” Junhui rolled over and scrambled to his feet as quickly as humanely possible, only to notice two very apparent things. 

 

One: The lid on one of the tins containing blue paint had not been closed properly by whoever had last used it (damn them), and the impact of his fall had caused the lid to pop off.

 

Two: Said blue paint that had been inside the tin was now all over the motorcycle, ruining what seemed to be a fairly new paint job.

 

Well… _fuck._ Junhui felt like someone had punched him in the gut, and the churning feeling only migrated up towards his head, giving him a massive headache at the worst time. He should have anticipated this and walked further away from the vehicle — unfortunately, his only thought had been to hurry back to the council room. Junhui’s first instinct to salvage the situation was to reach for the rags which were now scattered around the ruined motorcycle, one even neatly draped on top of a handlebar. 

 

Before he could even reach out to attempt to wipe off the blue paint which was now dangerously spreading down towards the wheels, a voice jerked him out of his nightmare of a reverie. 

 

“Junhui-hyung!” 

 

Junhui recoiled instantly upon hearing his own name in that voice, and at this point could only helplessly watch, rag in his hand which was now limp at his side, as a figure made his way across the carpark towards him. His eyes were glazed over and squinted, and his gaze was fixated not on the perpetuator of his ruined vehicle, but said vehicle itself. The blue was indeed quite glaring. Junhui’s eyes darted back and forth from the motorcycle to its owner, but ended up settling on staring down at his shoes.

 

So he still remembered his name.

 

Xu Minghao stopped right in front of his vehicle which now had a new paint job that he never asked for, and spun his head to stare at Junhui so quickly he swore the younger could have gotten whiplash. 

 

“Did you do this?” Minghao asked him, raising an eyebrow. It was quite an unnecessary question, especially since Junhui’s school uniform was splattered with dots of paint, and he was practically the only person at the scene of the crime. Even a newborn baby could have pointed out the culprit without asking.

 

Well, maybe not, but Junhui’s mind was short circuiting right now. Minghao was probably going to throw a couple of punches at him, but he felt so numb inside that he might not even feel the impact of his fists. 

 

“Um, yeah.” Junhui stood, frozen like a deer in the headlights of a hunter’s truck. Then he fumbled for the right words to say. Korean seemed way too foreign at a time like this, but he didn’t want to go back to Chinese. What if Minghao assumed that he had been belittling his ability to speak the local language? He could only expect a bunch of extra kicks sent in his direction.

 

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean it. I tripped, and the paint just splashed onto your bike. It was a complete accident. I’ll— I’ll pay you back,” he promised, even as fear crept into his mind that he might be in debt for this paint job that was probably a couple thousand dollars. 

 

“How much was it? I’ll pay you for another coat of paint, I promise, please. Um. Don’t hit me… please.” Junhui shrunk back slightly.

 

Minghao remained silent as he stared at the student council secretary. Even though he was slightly shorter, his steady, possibly calculative gaze that scanned Junhui up and down made the older seem like he was a foot below this boy. Was he _really_ going to beat him up like all the rumours had stated?

 

“It’s okay,” Minghao finally spoke. “You don’t have to pay me, I saw you trip from afar.”

 

Junhui raised his eyebrows. He hadn’t spotted Minghao from across the carpark, yet the younger had seen him trip? Then again, he never had 20/20 vision.

 

And also, the younger wasn’t going to punch him unlike all the rumours? He had heard that anyone who messed with his things (especially his motorcycle) wouldn’t see the light of day, but apparently fate now wanted to give him a second chance.

 

Before the older could thank him profusely for letting him off the hook, gather his logistics and _run_ (Seungcheol was probably more than worried at this point), Minghao opened his mouth again. “But in exchange, you’ll have to owe me three favours.”

 

Junhui blinked, stunned once again by his request. He wasn’t going to make him… participate in his illegal business… right? “Uh… what do you want me to do for you?” he asked cautiously.

 

Minghao pursed his lips in thought. “I can’t think of anything right now. But I’ll let you know when I have any ideas.”

 

“It won’t involve anything… illegal, right?” Junhui asked, just to make sure. He was already bending down to recover all his logistics from the ground.

 

“What?” Minghao raised an eyebrow, looking down at him sharply. 

 

Junhui gulped, rearranging the paint tins and brushes once more like a more precarious version of the Tower of Pisa. “Nothing!” he exclaimed quickly, carefully standing up once more. “Once again, I’m so sorry, really.”

 

Minghao shifted his gaze towards the stack Junhui was attempting to balance, and for once, the seemingly cold aura around him seemed to falter. He strode towards the older boy, holding a hand out to steady the brushes that already seemed like they were about to fall. 

 

“Do you need help?” he asked so simply, but to Junhui it felt incredibly genuine. He studied the younger boy cautiously who was in such close proximity with him. In all honesty, if he wasn’t so afraid of he who was the ‘school delinquent’, Junhui might have even found him… attractive? From the piercings decorating the shells and lobes of his pointed ears, to his fluffy blonde hair that had been swept up in a side part, to his steely gaze that seemed to radiate unfeigned concern right then, perhaps Junhui was tempted to let his guard down around him. 

 

But instead, Junhui blinked, forcing himself out of his daydream, and stepped away. “No, it’s okay, or else it might seem like you’re the one who owes me a favour!” He offered Minghao a small, crooked smile, then hefted the paint tins up for a better grip. “I’ll be going now, or Seungcheol will probably send out a search party for me.”

 

He spun around, and tried to walk as quickly as he could while still balancing the logistics. Junhui swore that he could feel Minghao’s gaze on his back as he left, but he didn’t turn back to look. He supposed Minghao was a _little_ nicer than the rumours had assumed, since his first reaction wasn’t to punch Junhui across the cheek for damaging his motorcycle.

 

(Thank God, because he didn’t want to have to explain that to both his parents, and Seungcheol, Jeonghan _and_ Jisoo, who seemed like his second trio of parents. 

 

He still did have to explain why he was late to the council room, though. 

 

“He didn’t punch you for that?” Seungcheol had asked, looking surprised. 

 

“Oh come on, Cheol, how could _anyone_ punch our handsome Junnie? We made the right call by choosing him as our secretary,” Jeonghan piped up from the beanbag in the corner of the room. Everyone jumped, since they thought he had been asleep. 

 

Jeonghan wasn’t even a member of the council, but he lazed around in the room from being best friends with Seungcheol and Jisoo so often that he might as well have been inducted as an honorary member. 

 

“It was _our_ call, Hannie,” Jisoo reminded kindly, then turned to Junhui. “I’m glad Minghao isn’t everything people say he is.”

 

Junhui could only nod at that. )

 

::

 

**_Rumour #2: Xu Minghao does incredibly illegal, dubious activities when he’s out of school._ **

 

“Will you be of more help, Wonwoo?” Junhui asks, hands moving deftly to file up the printed sheets of each club’s expenses for that term. Throughout the twenty minutes that he had been in the council room, Wonwoo hadn’t moved a single inch from his position at the window sill, eyes transfixed on the novel in his hands, not bothering to get up and help the former out. 

 

“I filed some away before you got here,” Wonwoo said dismissively, finally looking up from his book but not at Junhui— he was staring at the baseball field that the building overlooked. 

 

The baseball competition season was coming up soon, so the school team had been practicing every single day after school. For some reason, Junhui suddenly remembered that their vice captain, Mingyu, was one of Minghao’s closer friends. He was used to seeing them walk down the hallways together, girls scattering amongst whispers, or maybe Minghao had coerced Mingyu into doing so. Perhaps Mingyu owed him some favours too.

 

Speaking of Minghao, it had been a week since the awful paint ordeal had occured, but the younger boy still hadn’t approached Junhui for any favours. A part of him was relieved, since he had been slightly afraid that Minghao would command him to beat somebody up for him (which, by the way, was not what he intended to use his wushu skills for) or traffic some sort of illegal substance. Honestly, he wasn’t sure what kind of delinquent Minghao was, but he had heard _all_ sorts of rumours from those who attended the school, and they weren’t in Minghao’s favour most of the time. 

 

Junhui’s short musing regarding the younger boy was shaken off when he heard the door to the student council room open, and Jisoo walked in with the usual sweet smile on his face. He was always so affable with everyone; it was no wonder that he was appointed vice president of the council. Seungcheol might have long passed away with Jeonghan as his advisor instead of sweet Jisoo.

 

“Hi, Jisoo-hyung,” Junhui greeted, and Wonwoo and Seungcheol acknowledged him too with a nod each.Jeonghan waved from his position in the corner.

 

“Junhui! Just the person I wanted to see,” Jisoo exclaimed, and his smile wavered slightly as his eyes darted back towards the door. Junhui raised an eyebrow. Did he do something wrong? 

 

Apart from the motorcycle fiasco the week before, which he had already reported to the council (everyone had mostly just sighed and told him to stay out of trouble with Minghao), he hadn’t done anything out of the ordinary. 

 

“What’s wrong?” Junhui asked cautiously, beginning to get up from his seat slowly. 

 

“Ah... there’s someone looking for you outside,” Jisoo said simply. 

 

Junhui shrugged his bad feeling off and nodded, slipping past Jisoo to get out of the room. He hadn’t even contemplated about who it would, and barely managed to shut the door behind him before a piece of paper was shoved into his face. 

 

“Wha—?” Junhui accepted the paper before looking over at who it was, and a part of his brain froze over like water at subzero when he realised that it was Minghao. The younger boy looked like he had just come out of class (surprisingly) with his backpack slung over his shoulder. As usual, he wasn’t wearing the school uniform properly, with the short sleeve blouse untucked and unbuttoned over a red hoodie. Junhui chose not to comment, since Minghao was staring at him with the same icy gaze that he wore when he found that the older had just painted his motorcycle an abstract blue.

 

He looked down at at the paper in his hands once again— it was a quiz on Chemistry, and Minghao’s grade was clearly marked out in red that he had failed, quite badly, in fact. Junhui couldn’t help but be confused in this situation. What did Minghao want him to do? Force the teacher to change his grade? Throw a punch at the setter of the quiz?

 

“The first favour,” Minghao started, his gaze suddenly softening, and he began rubbing a hand behind his neck almost nervously, which was the most uncharacteristic Junhui had ever seen him. The older boy could only look at him in surprise. “Tutor me in Chemistry.” 

 

“Huh?” Junhui stared.

 

“Didn’t you see my grade? I’m failing my class.” Minghao pointed at his marks for emphasis, then glared up at Junhui. The student council secretary definitely preferred hanging out with Minghao if he wasn’t always scowling so intensely at him.

 

“Wouldn’t it be better if you asked someone in your class to help you? Since they’re currently learning the same thing?” Junhui asked cautiously. Even to his own ears, it sounded like he was making excuses to avoid spending time with the delinquent, but he was actually relieved that his first task wasn’t to assassinate someone or something along that line.

 

“But you’d be more experienced having taken the subject for a longer time,” Minghao argued simply. 

 

“You have a point,” Junhui agreed, and decided that he’d rather tutor Minghao as a favour than help out with the black market. After some discussion, Junhui settled on meeting up with the younger every Tuesday to help him with his god-awful Chemistry. The surprising thing was, Junhui was much busier than the younger, whom he thought would have had daily schedules to attend to whatever dubious activities he did outside of the school campus. Instead, Minghao was free every single afternoon while Junhui had most of his days taken up either from council meetings or dance club sessions.

 

He bid Minghao goodbye, trying hard to ignore his trademark glare that was still fixated on him, and stepped back into the student council room. Junhui was greeted with four worried looks (well, three. Wonwoo pretty much always looked indifferent, but Junhui could feel his concern.) 

 

After assuring them that he was not about to help sell drugs to the nearest dealer, Junhui slumped back in his seat and continued filing. Why couldn’t he have crossed paths with someone less complex?

 

::

 

“So… the oxidation state of sulfur is plus 6 in this compound,” Junhui explained slowly, watching as Minghao’s brows furrowed in a scowl he thought could not get _any_ deeper from his usual glower. He mentally retracted his earlier thought about dealing with a complex, troublesome person — when tutoring Minghao, the younger basically turned into an incredibly confused five year old. 

 

His usual icy demeanour had completely vaporised and he almost looked like a normal student cramming for a test. That is, if you could ignore the bruises that were scattered on his arms and face. As Junhui stared at Minghao, who was intently digesting his tuition, he almost looked innocent, and… friendly? The older averted his gaze and coughed, attention going back to the reason why they were in a corner of the school library with a table covered in Chemistry books. Why was it that he always ended up drifting off in thought about the younger boy?

 

“Get it?” Junhui asked softly. Minghao sighed, and slumped backwards into his seat, setting his pen down on the table quite heavily. 

 

“I think I need a break,” Minghao groaned, covering his eyes with his hands. “Jesus Christ, I swear Chemistry wasn’t this difficult when we were in middle school. I would have dropped it if I had known it would come to this bullshit.”

 

Junhui couldn’t help but let out a quiet giggle at his frustration, a tiny smile gracing his features. “Don’t beat yourself up over it. It took me a while to get it too.”

 

Minghao shifted to lie over his open textbook, burying his face in his arms. “When will knowledge bestow itself upon me,” he lamented.

 

Junhui stifled a laugh, offering Minghao an even wider smile. He really did seem like a more approachable person, but studying did tend to short circuit the brain of your average student, which was perhaps the reason why he seemed to have let his guard down and was more open now.

 

“You know,” Junhui began softly, not sure if he should bring this topic up, but he did anyway. Maybe it would clear up some of the stiff air between both of them, and Minghao seemed more easy-going now than he had ever seen him, so he might as well seize the opportunity. “I didn’t think you would actually study. I thought all you did was… spend your time outside doing… illegal things.”

 

He shrank back slightly, eyes darting to look anywhere but the delinquent when Minghao turned to look at him, head still resting on his arms, but his gaze had now returned to its usual cold glare. It had seemed that he had majorly screwed up. “What do you mean?” Minghao asked, his voice hardening as well.

 

“Um…” Junhui shifted in his seat slightly, away from the younger boy who _might_ just knock him out at any moment. “Sorry… I didn’t mean for it to sound so bad, I just meant… everyone always says that you just beat people up and sell contraband, I guess…”

 

Minghao’s scowl remained, but he eventually sat up and played with his fingers, not really looking at Junhui. The older pressed his lips together, and they sat in silence awkwardly, each second ticking by feeling like an eternity. He probably shouldn’t have mentioned such a sensitive topic, damn it.

 

“… I get it,” Minghao finally said, his voice softening once more. “I do hear the rumours in school about me all the time. They always say bad things about me since I do look the part, but I don’t actually do many of the things they say.” Then Minghao looked into Junhui’s eyes, and the older could only see honesty and a bit of despair within them. He must not have told this to many people, and Junhui felt concern and an urge to listen further bubble up within him. 

 

“I don’t do any of that illegal stuff. I get my bruises from practicing wushu and break dancing, that’s all. I guess I could beat somebody up if I wanted to, but I wouldn’t do it for fun,” Minghao’s eyes glazed over slightly as he stared. “Believe me.”

 

“I will,” Junhui answered almost instantly, feeling like he was in a trance from staring into the younger’s eyes. Minghao made a face and raised an eyebrow, looking like he didn’t really trust in Junhui’s response, especially since he had replied so quickly. “No favour required, I’ll believe you,” Junhui added on earnestly.

 

Minghao nodded slowly, as if taking in the fact that Junhui did, in fact, genuinely trust that he wasn’t like the rumours had made him out to be. “Thanks, hyung,” the younger said quietly, beginning to avert eye contact. If Junhui had looked closer, he would have noticed that Minghao’s face was a shade of red darker.

 

“If you have anything you need to get off your chest, you can tell me,” Junhui offered, leaning onto the table with an elbow. “I’m not as good of a listener as Jisoo-hyung, maybe, but I’ll do my best.”

 

“Really?” Minghao looked up.

 

Junhui nodded, a smile beginning to blossom on his face once more. Maybe clearing up some of the rumours with Minghao had been the right thing to do, since he felt like the younger had begun to shed some of his cold exterior and was starting to wear his real heart on his sleeve. Junhui should only return the favour by opening up too. “You have to show me your break dancing sometime.”

 

“Sure, I guess, if we ever have the time,” Minghao agreed, before turning back to attempt to understand the redox equations typed out on the textbook before him. As Junhui continued to teach him for the next few hours, he couldn’t shake the feeling that Minghao could potentially be a really good friend to have, and made up his mind to not be so stigmatic against the younger boy. 

 

(“Minghao? Yeah, he’s honestly a really nice guy, but don’t tell him I said that. He’ll never live it down,” Mingyu said in what sounded like a mix between a whisper and a hiss. 

 

“So he really doesn’t any of the things the rumours claim?” Junhui asked. He had pulled Mingyu aside to confirm what Minghao had told him in the library. 

 

“Nah, he’s way too busy for that. Family stuff and all.” Mingyu waved it off with a hand. “Why’re you so curious, hyung? Did you make friends with him? I’m so proud!” Mingyu beamed, sounding like a pleased father. 

 

Junhui let out a soft laugh. “You could say that.” ) 

 

::

 

**_Rumour #3: Xu Minghao’s only hobby is beating people up, since he’s incapable of befriending anyone._ **

 

“You know, you should come for the club showcase tomorrow,” Junhui offered, just as Minghao decided to take a break and rest his brains from stoichiometric calculations. It was mainly targetted at the freshmen who had just joined the school in order to introduce them to the extracurricular activities offered there, but since Minghao hadn’t joined any even after his transfer, Junhui thought that it would have been a nice opportunity to present some options to him. Seungcheol would have been proud.

 

“Why, are you in charge?” Minghao asked, turning to face the older boy. He looked immensely tired of the subject, and it didn’t look like he had much improvement even after 3 of their weekly sessions.

 

“The student council kind of oversees everything, so I guess,” Junhui shrugged. “Don’t skip it this time. You should go and see if any clubs suit you.”

 

Minghao scoffed. “I don’t think anyone would be willing to take me in, but fine. I’ll only go if you let me follow you around,” the younger boy said, then dropped his voice to a hushed whisper as if it was only meant for him to hear. “Everyone would run if they saw me alone.”

 

Junhui’s smile widened as he nodded at his request. Ever since he had decided to treat Minghao like a friend, the younger boy had been way more open to him. 

 

“But in exchange, hang out with me this Saturday. It’s my birthday, so, yeah.” Minghao acted like that day was no big deal, but his eyes were trained on Junhui as if in anticipation for his response. “That’s your second favour.”

 

At this point, Junhui would have probably agreed to hang out with the younger boy even if he hadn’t pulled the favour card on him, but Minghao seemed so certain that the student council secretary could only agree. 

 

“Happy early birthday,” Junhui wished him cheerfully.

 

Minghao waved it off. “You can wish me on Saturday,” he said, before they returned to the textbooks laid out in front of him, but Junhui could tell he was slightly flustered.

 

::

 

Junhui weaved between the crowds of freshmen checking out the plethora of booths, turning back every few seconds to make sure if Minghao was still following him. True to their promise, Minghao could be seen slowly trailing after him, his blonde hair making him stand out amongst the other students. 

 

He looked particularly displeased to be at such close proximity with so many strangers, and Minghao had resorted to shoving his hands in his pockets and shooting everyone who accidentally nudged him a death glare, causing them to part on both sides like the Red Sea.

 

Junhui couldn’t help but let out a laugh, especially since Minghao reminded him of an especially feisty cat which bristled whenever it was touched. After pausing for a moment to wait for the younger to catch up with him, Junhui reached out and grabbed Minghao’s wrist, pulling him towards the dance club booth. The blonde stiffened up for a split second before relaxing upon realising that it was Junhui who was currently holding his arm, and allowed the older to guide him through the crowd. 

 

The booth Junhui had been looking for was situated in a classroom near the end of the hallway, and was instantly greeted by Soonyoung who had been attempting to gather more members. The cheerful club president bounded over towards them, waving enthusiastically at Junhui. Soonyoung tilted his head to the side and lowered his hand a little upon seeing Minghao, as if contemplating something before approaching them anyway. 

 

Minghao retracted his arm from Junhui’s grasp, opting to quietly and awkwardly stand behind the older. He knew Soonyoung had recognised him for being the infamous school delinquent, and really didn’t want to subject himself to the usual scared or judgemental gazes that people gave him. 

 

“Junnie! You brought a club member!” Soonyoung exclaimed over the bass of the music in the background that Chan was currently dancing to in order to attract more members. Then he sidestepped the older and reached out a hand towards Minghao with a smile so bright it could have blinded the sun itself.

 

“Hi! You’re Minghao, right?” Soonyoung greeted as he shook Minghao’s hand, the latter looking quite confused as to why he was so accommodating to him. “I’m Soonyoung, the dance club’s president. Mingyu’s told me all about you!”

 

Minghao blinked, completely silent. He must have not been expecting anyone else to talk to him, and in such a friendly manner at that, Junhui thought. 

 

“I hope Mingyu didn’t say anything bad,” Junhui spoke up instead, putting his arm around Soonyoung’s shoulders. The shorter laughed, shaking his head, making his bright red locks ruffle.

 

“Nah, he said you’d be a great addition to our dance team!” Soonyoung assured. “Told me about how you break dance too.”

 

“Oh,” Minghao said, visibly relieved. “It’s not _that_ impressive. You know how Mingyu is; he likes to exaggerate everything.”

 

After hanging out with Minghao for a while now, Junhui felt like he had befriended with a cat, and often had to deduce how the younger boy was actually feeling from his body language rather than his words. He knew that Minghao had been on edge at the prospect of meeting new people, but was now beginning to warm up to Soonyoung, and he could tell from how the younger boy’s posture was more relaxed now.

 

“Still, you should show us your skills!” Soonyoung suggested, and gestured to a square of tiles behind him that had been taped off, and Chan was currently doing what looked like Michael Jackson inspired dances to the hiphop beat in the background.

 

“In front of everyone?” Minghao nervously eyed the circle of freshmen that had began to gather around Chan, hyping him up as he continued to move to the bass.

 

Junhui beamed comfortingly at him before patting his shoulder. “You’ll do fine, don’t worry! Soonyoung and I will cheer you on from the sides.”

 

Minghao still looked hesitant to do so, and Junhui knew that it was because he was afraid of judgement from the crowd. As someone who danced, he himself well understood that it could be overwhelming and even scary to dance in front of strangers who could potentially look at you in disdain. Junhui squeezed his shoulder and Soonyoung grinned at Minghao encouragingly before the younger boy nodded slowly.

 

“Okay, but only for a minute,” Minghao agreed, mainly looking at Junhui for some sort of assurance. The older returned it in the form of a wide smile and a genuine “I believe in you!”

 

As the song from the bluetooth speakers Soonyoung had set up earlier came to an end, Chan finished his dance with an iconic pose from his dance idol, earning loud cheers from the audience. He turned around to look at his hyungs with a bright grin, but it faltered when he spotted Minghao between them. Chan, too, had heard some of the rumours that had been floating around, and he quickly stepped out of the taped off section.

 

Minghao slowly walked into the middle as the next song began to play, Junhui and Soonyoung cheering for him amongst the hushed whispers of the rest of the people since they recognised who the blonde boy was. The younger shot Junhui one last look, who grinned and gave him a thumbs up. Minghao closed his eyes and took a shaky breath, before opening them, now completely focused. 

 

He flowed along with the beat, his movements fluid and graceful with the occasional addition of his break dancing moves, slowly yet surely managing to capture the eyes of the audience with his own freestyle choreography that oozed charisma. Similar to most of the now-stunned audience, Junhui couldn’t take his eyes off the younger boy either, as if they were naturally attracted to Minghao like unlike poles on two magnets. 

 

He had the feeling Minghao would have been good at dancing — his physique, his flexibility, and even his gaze, which was now full of charm and not just a glare— but Junhui hadn’t quite expected Minghao have been _this_ good. Perhaps it was because he’d always seen Soonyoung’s fiery, dynamic dancing, Chan’s powerful moves, and his own confident, polished moves such that seeing Minghao’s dance weaved with such fluent energy was like watching a whole other level of finesse.

 

Minghao’s dancing was jaw-dropping, almost literally to say the least, as most of the audience was transfixed by his movements that commanded such a vigorous stage presence. The only thing Junhui could think of at that moment was that Minghao definitely had to join their club— and that he was undoubtedly so much more gorgeous when he was dancing. 

 

(Junhui would question the second part to his musing much later.)

 

The song ended with Minghao doing a front flip before sliding across the floor on his knees to the last drum beat, and the audience immediately erupted into the loudest cheers he had ever heard. When he got up off the ground, still panting, the students had crowded around him like they were fans mobbing their idol on a street. All Minghao could hear was a mix between apologies for thinking that he was an uncivilised, crude delinquent and praises for being such a talented dancer, and the attention was unquestionably a first for him. He mustered up a genuine smile and thanked them while trying to catch his breath, also running a hand through his now sweaty hair. 

 

After the crowd slowly dispersed, Minghao turned around and was almost tackled by Soonyoung, followed by Junhui, and then Chan.

 

“Minghao! That was amazing!” Soonyoung gushed, grabbing the stunned blonde by his shoulders. “You don’t even need a trial, I’m accepting you into our club right now!”

 

“Minghao-hyung!” came Chan from behind, starting to talk non-stop like a bullet train on full speed like he did when he was excited. “My name’s Chan and you were _so_ cool just now! I’m sorry I thought you were scary at first, but you were so amazing when dancing. You _have_ to join the club and teach us how to break dance like you!”

 

Eyes wide and evidently overwhelmed, Minghao’s gaze darted from the two dance club members in front of him to Junhui, and back. He let out a nervous laugh before saying, “Thanks, _really_. I’ll think about it?”

 

Soonyoung and Chan looked like they were about to protest, so Junhui quickly stepped in. “I’ll show Minghao around to the other clubs first and he can decide later.” he grinned at the two who looked despaired. 

 

“Jun-hyung…” Chan looked as if Minghao wouldn’t ever return if he left then.

 

“Don’t worry, I’ll convince him. It’s kind of my job as the vice president,” Junhui said with a wink, and turned to go.

 

“You’d better, Junnie!” Junhui heard Soonyoung yell before turning back to his booth, and he and Minghao both walked off slowly. Once they were further away from the noisy dance club members, Junhui gave Minghao the widest smile he had probably ever made.

 

“You were amazing out there. Flawless, even,” Junhui beamed.

 

Minghao looked away, almost shy. “I wasn’t _that_ good.”

 

“Well, I thought you were great,” Junhui complimented, casually throwing an arm around Minghao’s shoulders. “And I’m sure a lot of people thought the same of you.”

 

“I’m just glad they didn’t judge me because of what they heard,” Minghao let out a sigh. “Especially Soonyoung-hyung and Chan. They’re really nice.”

 

Junhui couldn’t help but feel a wave of happiness swell up within him at the thought of Minghao making even more friends. “They are, aren’t they? Both of them definitely meant it when they asked you to join the club, and I think you should too. Your talent’s way too good to go to waste.”

 

Minghao looked apprehensive. “I’m sure there are way better dancers in this school than me, and with a reputation like mine, you wouldn’t want me in your club…”

 

Junhui softly smiled down at the younger who had oozed so much confidence during his short dance session earlier, but was now back to his quiet, insecure self. “I’m telling you, you’d be the perfect addition to our trio.”

 

“Despite how much Soonyoung advertises the club, he’s still extremely strict when it comes to trials. It’s like he needs to find a special something in your dance for people to be able to join,” Junhui said in a low voice. “Which is why we still only have 3 members. The fact that he practically begged you to join just now was the highest form of assurance you need.”

 

Minghao took in the information with a surprised look, but he still seemed apprehensive, so Junhui decided to drag him around to the rest of the clubs for a look, but by the end of the entire showcase, he was back at the dance club’s booth giving Soonyoung and Chan his details. 

 

Junhui leaned against the wall as he peeked over Minghao’s shoulder, and watching them trade their numbers and bond about dancing as they talked made him beam with utmost pride at how far the younger boy had come. 

 

( “Soonyoung’s literally just like a red highlighter who prioritises dancing over everything. And Chan will attempt to incorporate Michael Jackson into every single dance we do,” Junhui joked as he carried some boxes back to the student council room, with Minghao kindly offering to help hold some as well. “I’m really glad you joined, Minghao.”

 

He really meant it.

 

“Me too…” Minghao trailed off, suddenly looking tense. “Um, hyung, can I call you Jun-hyung too?”

 

Junhui didn’t know what he was expecting Minghao to ask, but it was most definitely not that. The blonde had probably heard Soonyoung and Chan calling him by the nicknames coined by their usual friend group, and wanted to pick up on that. If anything, it was one of the cutest questions Minghao had ever asked him.

 

“Yeah, sure,” Junhui smiled down at him. “Just ‘Jun’’s okay, too, if I get to call you Hao.” 

 

The last part was mostly just a tease, but Junhui kind of wanted to know if Minghao would really let him so do.

 

“Okay,” Minghao agreed, all too quickly. 

 

They didn’t say anything else to each other the whole way back, but Junhui couldn’t help but pick up on the fact that Minghao was almost glowing with happiness, looking the most contented the older had ever seen him. )

 

::

 

**_Rumour #4: Xu Minghao couldn’t give a shit about his grades._ **

 

Closing the door to the student council behind him, Junhui hoisted his backpack and began to make his way down the corridor towards the library for his weekly tutoring session with Minghao. After the younger had agreed to join their club the previous day, Junhui couldn’t help but begin to feel like their friendship was actually taking shape.

 

Passing by the staffroom, Junhui spotted one of the teachers struggling to carry some of the workbooks, and recognised him as Minghao’s chemistry teacher as he walked closer. Being the helpful secretary that he was, Junhui offered to help him to bring some of the books to their designated classrooms with him, shooting Minghao a quick text that he would be slightly late.

 

“Mr Lee, you’re Xu Minghao’s Chemistry teacher, right?” Junhui asked to make small talk.

 

“Ah, yes,” the older man responded as they slowly made their way together. “He’s not very good at it, but I can tell that recently he’s been putting in more effort.”

 

Junhui smiled. “Maybe it’s partially my influence. I’ve been tutoring him every week.”

 

“He’s definitely been attending classes more frequently now. I’ve always been mean to him for not showing up on time, but he’s improving slowly.”

 

A bubble of pride rose up within Junhui at the thought of their sessions actually amounting to development in Minghao’s understanding of the subject. It may have been slight, but it was still an advancement nevertheless.

 

“Oh, really?” Junhui said. “I’m glad. He’s always complaining about Chemistry.”

 

Mr Lee nodded. “Recently he’s even asked me for supplementary questions. I had been wondering where this sudden bout of studiousness had come from, but I’m glad it was your impact, Junhui.”

 

Both of them reached the classroom, and carefully set the books down on one of the shelves at the side of the room. Bidding the older teacher goodbye, Junhui took quick strides towards the library, feeling strangely light and happy after their conversation. It was almost funny how he would always feel so ecstatic after hearing people sing praises about the younger boy.

 

Minghao was already at their usual corner, head on his arms as he slouched over the table, only looking up when he heard Junhui put his bag down and take a seat next to him.

 

“Sorry I’m late, I was helping Mr Lee carry some Chemistry books down,” Junhui apologised, smiling at how Minghao perked up upon hearing his teacher’s name.

 

“Did he talk shit about me?” Minghao asked in a joking tone, but half of him wanted to know the truth as well.

 

Junhui huffed, grinning as he resting his chin on his palm. “Quite the opposite, actually. He told me you’ve been really hardworking. I’m proud of you,” he said, reaching out to ruffle Minghao’s hair with his other hand. 

 

The blonde dodged him, face tinted a shade of red darker. “Whatever, it’s no big deal. My parents just kept bugging me about studying so I thought I’d get my shit together for once.”

 

Junhui let out a laugh at how shy Minghao was to admit that he was starting to change his ways and was now taking steps towards improving his academics. “Sure, I’m still happy for you though.”

 

“Stop it,” Minghao cut him off before rummaging through his file and pulling out a sheet of paper filled with chemical equations. Junhui smiled even wider upon seeing that it was labelled as a supplementary worksheet, true to what Mr Lee had told him earlier, a warm fuzzy feeling spreading up to his cheeks.

 

“I need your help with some questions,” Minghao began, eyes scanning the sheet before he looked up at Junhui as if suddenly remembering something. “Oh yeah, don’t forget we’re hanging out on Saturday.”

 

If it had been any other of his friends, Junhui would have jumped in with a joke that they were going out on a date, but with Minghao his teasing comment got caught in his throat, and he really wasn’t sure why. Either way, he nodded quietly, and Junhui spent the whole session being slightly distracted. 

 

(“Oh, who’s that for?” Wonwoo asked, looking at the shopping bag that Junhui was holding. They had met up in the late afternoon to hang out, and latter had been late due to undisclosed reasons.

 

“It’s for a friend,” Junhui said dismissively, quickly changing the subject. Wonwoo raised an eyebrow like he knew something the other didn’t, but didn’t pursue the matter.

 

As they walked, Junhui unconsciously looked down at the blue hoodie in his bag. It would kind of be cheesy to get Minghao something so common, right? But then again, it could be an alternative to the red hoodie that the younger always wore to school. )

 

::

 

**_Rumour #5: Xu Minghao doesn’t have any feelings._ **

 

Minghao had texted Junhui to meet him at the amusement park that was situated quite near their school in the afternoon. The older hadn’t expected that they were going to spend the day taking theme park rides, and was anticipating just a casual lunch together, but nevertheless felt excitement pool in his stomach. Maybe a bit of nervousness too, as he walked through the entrance and immediately spotted couples scattered around, taking sickeningly cute selfies together or looking at the park’s map.

 

Junhui spotted Minghao leaning up against a tree near the ticket booth, and reeled back for a split second. This was the first time that he had seen the younger without his hair styled up, and his blonde shaggy hair was partially covering his eyes, making him look so soft, and dare Junhui think it… cute? 

 

He was wearing a long sleeved plaid shirt and black jeans, almost like a classic boyfriend look, and as Junhui stepped closer he could see that a couple of girls had approached him, but Minghao simply gave them his signature glare, only brightening up when he noticed the older, side stepping the disappointed girls in order to meet Junhui in the middle.

 

“Hey, happy birthday!” Junhui said with a wide smile, handing Minghao the bag with the hoodie inside. The younger obviously wasn’t expecting a present from him, eyes wide and lips slightly parted as he took it into his hands. 

 

“You didn’t have to,” Minghao said, but the expression on his face was so full of delight and joy that it made something stir inside Junhui’s heart. The older watched as he smiled even wider upon seeing the hoodie, Junhui’s cheeks suddenly feeling very warm. Minghao’s eyes were literally sparkling with happiness. “Thanks, Jun.” 

 

He looked even more radiant than Soonyoung’s hair. Junhui didn’t want to think about why he being hyperaware of Minghao or the beating of his own heart, and opted to sling an arm around the blonde before steering him towards the counter to get tickets. 

 

“You’re welcome, Hao,” Junhui said. “What did those girls say to you?”

 

Minghao rolled his eyes. “Eh, they just wanted my number or something. I’m not interested.” And that was the end of that topic.

 

Both of them decided to get the full day pass, with Minghao dragging Junhui onto every single rollercoaster in view, insisting that they had to try all the rides or it wouldn’t be worth their money. Junhui wouldn’t have minded that except for the fact that he was actually easily afraid of heights, especially when they were twisting and swerving ten feet up in the sky, causing him to let out terrified screams at occasional points during the rides, gripping onto the sides of the car till his knuckles almost turned white.

 

Minghao, on the other hand, was easily the more daring one between the both of them, looking full of enjoyment rather than fear, and he barely held on to the bar in front of him at all, choosing to throw his hands up in the air and laughing as they bolted across the tracks.

 

It was a miracle that Junhui didn’t throw up, especially since he and Minghao bought many snacks in between rides, and he would also have been really embarrassed to do so in front of the younger boy. Either way, that had been one of the best days of his life, and Junhui was glad that he got to spend it with Minghao.

 

They ended up staying for longer than they’d thought, and just as they finished the last ride that Minghao had wanted to go for, it was late enough for all the pretty decorations and lights had been lit up, glowing under the cover of darkness.

 

“Hey, Jun, we should go and watch the fireworks,” Minghao suggested, watching as the older was currently fiddling with the lid of a cup containing cotton candy.

 

“Oh yeah, it’s about that time, huh?” Junhui beamed, offering Minghao some of the floss. “We should get a good view.”

 

Minghao accepted some of the candy, and both of them fell in step, walking in comfortable silence until they reached an area where a lot of couples were also gathered, leaning over the fence that separated them and a small lake that led to the main castle attraction in the distance, which was mainly where the fireworks would be set off from.

 

“Jun?”

 

“Yeah?” Junhui titled his head to look at the younger boy, who was staring out at the water with a forlorn look in his eyes.

 

“Thanks for hanging out with me, even if it’s just a favour,” Minghao said, playing with his fingers and refusing to look at Junhui. “For tutoring me in Chemistry and even allowing me to join your club.”

 

“It’s not like I mind,” Junhui said, wondering why Minghao was sounding so gloomy all of a sudden. Admittedly, a few weeks ago before he had started to talk to Minghao, he would have avoided the younger at all costs, but Junhui had already seen that beneath the aloof demeanour that Minghao wore in front of everyone, he was always just an insecure, but talented boy who was just like any other normal student in school. “You’re a good person to be with.”

 

Minghao finally showed him a tiny, crooked smile. “Thanks. Actually, I should thank you for spilling paint on my motorcycle. If you didn’t, we wouldn’t be talking like this at all.”

 

Junhui blinked, the fact that it would have been so easy to not have crossed paths with Minghao at all dawning on him now. Should he have taken the paints back in batches, or maybe walked a little further from the motorcycle, or maybe even ran away like a coward, they wouldn’t be there together, talking, waiting for some fireworks at midnight.

 

“To tell you the truth, I never really liked moving to Seoul, even if it meant that I would get a good place in a pretty elite school just because my dad was a key investor. My parents only care about their jobs and their reputation, not what I think or feel, which was why I decided to pull that whole delinquent stunt to rebel against them. I guess it wasn’t a good idea, since I made the entire school population scared of me,” Minghao admitted. 

 

He looked up at Junhui, who was stunned by the younger boy’s sudden personal exposition. “I’ve never thought that anyone in the school could make me feel welcome, but you do it so naturally.” Minghao let out a bitter sounding laugh. “You’re so popular and everyone likes you so much. You could have just ditched me or just continued to view me in the same way as everyone else, but you care so much.”

 

Junhui swallowed. “I couldn’t just leave you alone after seeing that all those rumours were wrong.”

 

“You’re too nice, Jun,” Minghao sighed.

 

“You deserve to be treated nicely,” Junhui answered seriously. 

 

Minghao seemed taken aback by that, and resorted to simply smiling down at the water. It grew silent between them, the chatter of people and music in the background taking over their voices for a while.

 

“… I remembered how I dreaded going to Pledis, and was even considering skipping the first day of school just for rebelliousness sake. But I’m glad I went, because _you_ showed me around, and you were so kind even though I didn’t want to respond properly. It was like… I had finally found some sort of light to how dark my world was at that time. After that few days where we interacted, I didn’t have any reason to stick to you, so I’ve always been just looking at you from afar,” Minghao admitted, then he let out a nervous laugh, quickly clearing his throat after.

 

Junhui was speechless, and opted to stare at Minghao. Maybe the rides had messed with his head, but there was no denying how stunning the younger boy looked with the decorative lights cast across his face.

 

“I’m sorry, I know it must sound really weird to you, but… that’s why I didn’t even care that you had ruined my motorcycle.” Minghao finally looked back at Junhui, eyes looking glassy. From the reflection of the street lights or something else, Junhui didn’t know. “Because it gave me a reason to talk to you.”

 

“I… don’t understand,” Junhui said softly, quirking an eyebrow as he attempted to take in the underlying meaning behind Minghao’s words. “Why would you want to talk to me so much because of that? I’m just like any other student who could have showed you around that day.”

 

Minghao sighed. “Because,” he began, just as the fireworks were being set off in the sky, the whizzing and popping of the sparks combined with the excited cheers from the crowd all across the theme park, the sound of which was quickly beginning to drown out the volume of his voice.

 

“I like you.”

 

It was soft, and barely audible under the clamour of all the people and the fireworks itself, which was now painting colours across Minghao’s face as the younger boy stared at him with an unreadable look, but Junhui had undoubtedly heard him.

 

The older had not been expecting these words which now felt like a bomb of truth that had just exploded, and scrambled to reply, blinking and averting his gaze elsewhere. “Minghao, I…” 

 

Minghao stared at him seriously. “I’ve always liked you, more than just a friend.”

 

Junhui sighed, letting out a breath that he had, for some reason, been holding. “I-I’m sorry, but I don’t…” he turned so that he was facing Minghao completely. “I don’t like you in that way.”

 

He supposed he did find certain gestures that Minghao did cute, and the little things that he said made Junhui’s heart twist in a strange way, but he could never see the younger as more than just a friend. They were just really close, but he never had the thought of ever wanting to be with Minghao, and it would be kind of inappropriate for the student council secretary to be dating the school delinquent, right?

 

Minghao’s gaze hardened, his face now twisted up in utmost hurt, and he began to take slow steps away from Junhui. The older gasped, realising that he had accidentally said the last part out loud, and reached out a hand to grab Minghao’s arm, but the younger flinched away from him. 

 

“So that’s how you actually see me,” Minghao said, ice slowly seeping into his tone once more. “The student council secretary, forced to hang out with the school’s _shitty_ delinquent, huh?”

 

“No, I didn’t mean it like that, Hao, you know I genuinely like spending time with you,” Junhui said, feeling like it was getting progressively harder to form words with Minghao staring at him with the most crestfallen, betrayed look he had ever seen. His gaze felt like a knife that had pierced Junhui’s entrails.

 

“Oh _right_ , today’s events only happened because I asked you for a favour.” Minghao scoffed, turning to go. “You don’t have to look for me in the library anymore, either,” he said coldly. “You must be so happy to finally be free from me.”

 

“Hao, no—” Junhui began, trying once more to reach out for the younger boy, reach out to salvage the situation and their shattering relationship.

 

Minghao slapped his hand away, glaring back at him with real fury in his eyes. Junhui stopped, arms falling back to his sides.

 

“Don’t call me that anymore,” Minghao said bitterly. “I can’t believe I was so stupid as to think that you actually accepted me.”

 

“Minghao, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean what I said, it wasn’t supposed to be like that, I…” Junhui stammered, truly at a loss for words. The events had progressed so suddenly, it felt like he had suddenly been drenched by a tidal wave, now feeling strangely cold and confused.

 

“Yeah, I’ll believe you,” Minghao snarked back, his words oozing sarcasm and a sense of deja vu. He turned to leave for real, and Junhui could only helplessly watch as the younger boy got further from him, physically and relationship-wise. 

 

“Oh yeah, you still owe me one more favour, right?” Minghao said, whipping back so quickly Junhui couldn’t even react. “Then forget I ever said anything. Actually, forget I even exist.”

 

Then Junhui was left in the middle of a crowd of people still gasping at the multitude of colours from the fireworks display, but watching Minghao’s back get smaller and smaller in the distance, it was like all the hues in the world had faded to black.

 

::

 

The rest of the weekend consisted of Junhui moping around, trying to contact Minghao (that was unsuccessful, since he had blocked him), talking to his friends about Minghao, thinking about Minghao, Minghao, _Minghao._

 

It was like it took the universe to rip the younger boy out of his grasp before Junhui actually realised how much he missed his presence. Why did he have to say the wrong thing at the worst time possible? It was like his will to continue on with daily life had disappeared along with Minghao when he left during the fireworks display, not looking back once.

 

Apparently Minghao had stopped contacting Soonyoung and Chan too, because both of them had began to berate Junhui with endless texts on how he could have been so careless and mean to the blonde, thus implicating them as well. 

 

Junhui could only feel despondent when he thought about how he could have proved Minghao’s insecurities about everyone hating him wrong so easily if he just saw the concern Soonyoung and Chan were currently showering him with.

 

**_kwonfire:_** u’re an idiot jun

 

**_kwonfire:_** why the hell would u say that out loud

 

**_me:_** i didn’t mean to say it omg 

 

**_me:_** it just slipped out by accident

 

**_channie:_** if minghao hyung ignores us because of you i’ll ignore you too

 

**_me:_** what do i do??? he confessed and i didn't expect it so i turned him down

 

**_kwonfire:_** u’re a multi talented man but u really suck at romance 

 

**_channie:_** tbh i thought it was quite obvious that minghao hyung liked you was it just me 

 

**_me:_** i’ll take it as a compliment soonyoung 

 

**_me:_** but really?? um i didn’t suspect a thing

 

**_kwonfire:_** ur more dense than wonwoo and he has the awareness of a rock

 

**_kwonfire:_** but ngl i thought u liked him back

 

**_me:_** what??

 

**_channie:_** you talk about minghao-hyung all the time

 

**_channie:_** and did you see your face when he joined our club?? heart eyes all over

 

**_kwonfire:_** yea and u were so protective over him i legit almost thought y'all were dating

 

**_me:_** oh

 

Did he really seem like he liked Minghao in the same manner? Junhui tossed his phone to the side and lay back down on his bed, covering his eyes with an arm and thinking about the past few weeks when he had spent time with Minghao. 

 

Genuinely believing in Minghao for not being a bad person, laughing at how cute Minghao was when he was focusing on an especially hard question, offering to show him around to look for clubs, being unable to tear his eyes away from Minghao when he was dancing, feeling so ecstatic when Minghao finally agreed to join his club, being so proud of Minghao for improving in his worst subject, even spending one of the best days out with Minghao…

 

When Junhui removed his arm from his eyes, he couldn’t stop the hot tears from flowing down his cheeks. The reason why he had been so happy for the past few weeks was all because of Minghao. Every single time the younger boy smiled and Junhui’s heart skipped a beat, or when he laughed and the sound made Junhui feel like he was floating, it couldn’t have been because they were simply close friends. 

 

No two friends would feel so strongly about one another when they did the simplest of things.

 

It had to be attraction.

 

::

 

The weather had turned more chilly, and the school had began to turn up the heaters inside. Junhui should have been in the student council room getting some administrative filing out of the way, but instead he was waiting at the school entrance closest to the gate which he knew Minghao would drive in from. He shivered a little, feeling cold as he had forgotten to bring his jacket down with him, but he could wait. 

 

Minghao had waited for him to come round for so long, too.

 

After a long while of Junhui trying to keep warm by rubbing his hands together and huddling near the warm school entrance, a familiar red and black motorbike, now free of any blue paint, pulled into a lot by the doors. 

 

Junhui perked up instantly upon seeing his vehicle, and his expression instantly softened upon seeing Minghao after their fight. Warmth stirred in his stomach when he realised that Minghao had turned up on time for classes. Slowly, he made his way down the steps and towards the blonde, who was unbuckling his helmet and turning off the motorcycle.

 

Minghao sensed someone in the vicinity, and turned to face Junhui. His eyes widened for a split second before returning to its usual squinted glare, the ferocity of it all stabbing Junhui in his heart. Despite Minghao’s hostility, Junhui wanted to make up with him even more badly.

 

“Minghao,” he greeted.

 

The younger boy ignored him, shrugging his backpack’s strap over his shoulder and heading towards the school entrance. 

 

“Minghao!” Junhui exclaimed, reaching out to grab him by his shoulders. 

 

The younger dodged him easily, but stopped in his tracks, shooting him a glower. “I told you to stop talking to me.”

 

“I won’t,” Junhui said, stubborn. “I’m sorry, I thought about you the whole weekend, and how wrong it was for me to have said what I did on Saturday, but I’ve finally realised that I like you too.”

 

Minghao’s expression twisted into something of confusion, then scorn. “It’s not funny to make fun of someone’s feelings.”

 

“I’m serious!” Junhui protested, holding Minghao by his upper arms so that the younger boy was forced to face him. “I really like you. If I had felt otherwise, I wouldn’t have bothered to stick with you for so long. So don’t say that I’m only doing this, or did all those things because I owed you favours. Do you know why I didn’t oppose to any of them? When I could have just lodged a complaint to the principal for harassment? Because _I like you_!”

 

Minghao looked stupefied by Junhui’s outburst, visibly swallowing before he averted eye contact once more and pushed the older away. He adjusted his backpack before concealing any previous hints of feeling overwhelmed, and stared at Junhui with his trained cold stare.

 

“I don’t believe you.”

 

Junhui had laid almost all of his cards on the table, but he supposed that he needed to win Minghao’s trust back by showing him how he felt rather than telling him with words. Reaching out to cup Minghao’s cheek with a hand and resting his other hand on the younger’s back, Junhui leaned down slightly to meet Minghao’s lips with his own. 

 

Minghao was about to protest when Junhui had tugged him closer, but instantly swallowed back all of the words he had been about to say when they finally kissed. Junhui deepened the kiss when Minghao didn’t struggle out of his grasp, and nothing had felt more right in the world. It was like all the stars had aligned, the world was finally back on its axis, and both of them affirmed what they had been feeling towards one another all along.

 

When Junhui pulled away and opened his eyes, Minghao’s face was flushed a bright red, probably not from the cold weather but rather from their intimacy. The older blushed too, grinning stupidly down at him.

 

“Believe me now?”

 

Minghao huffed, but he didn’t move away. “When did you realise?”

 

“I thought about all the things we did together, and how I would feel so warm inside whenever I saw you, and I knew it had to be love,” Junhui said, pulling Minghao into a tight hug.

 

“You’re disgustingly cheesy,” Minghao said with no real bite to his words, as he slowly wrapped his arms around Junhui and returned the embrace, snuggling into his shoulder comfortably. 

 

Junhui laughed at that before realising that Minghao was currently wearing the blue hoodie that he had bought for him, his cheeks beginning to warm up. But the cold was starting to get to him too, and he let out a sneeze.

 

Minghao instantly pulled away, and let out a small gasp when he realised that Junhui was only wearing his thin school shirt and v-necked sweater that all student council members had.

 

“You didn’t wear an extra jacket? It’s so cold outside, you’ll get sick,” Minghao said worriedly.

 

Junhui stared down at Minghao, with the tips of his fairy like ears turning red under the older’s scrutiny. The blonde’s hair was let down today like on Saturday, partially covered by a beanie, and he was gazing up at the older through his bangs with eyes of concern and affection, all hostility now gone. Junhui couldn’t help but beam, making a silent promise to cherish the younger boy after hehad gone through so many tribulations.

 

“With you by my side, I can stand any cold,” Junhui grinned. 

 

Minghao sighed at his sappy words, the tips of his ears turning red anyway.

 

( “Yeah, right,” Minghao snorted after passing another tissue to a sneezing Junhui, the latter having put on his neglected jacket. “As if.”

 

“You sound like my mom, Hao,” Junhui teased, but snaked an arm around Minghao’s shoulders. “But that’s okay, I like you getting all domestic over me.”

 

“Shut up,” Minghao retorted, but his face felt hotter than glowing coals in a fire. “You owe me if I fall sick too.” )

 

**_Fact #1: Wen Junhui does, in fact, have feelings for Xu Minghao._ **

 

 

 

Bonus: 

 

“Mingyu has a crush on Wonwoo-hyung,” Minghao said the moment Junhui joined him at the library after school.

 

“Are you serious?” Junhui gaped. “I almost feel bad for Mingyu, since Wonwoo’s one of the densest guys in this school.”

 

“Mingyu’s dumb,” Minghao teased. “He literally fell for Wonwoo-hyung because he saw an, and I quote, ‘extremely handsome sunbae who always sits at the window of the student council room’ from the field.”

 

Junhui let out a low whistle. “That’s a whole new level of love at first sight. But Mingyu’s gonna need some help, he’s never going to win Wonwoo’s heart on his own. I speak as his best friend.”

 

Minghao nodded at what he said about Mingyu, but it’s not like he would ever tell Junhui that he’d first fell for him when Minghao had seen his smile across the hall on his first day of school.

 

_end._

**Author's Note:**

> minghao's blue hoodie is supposed to be the one from the clap fanchant vid bc he looks so soft i wanna protecc. kudos if u know which red hoodie i was imagining when writing this 
> 
> i swear minghao isnt actually my bias i just like him too much. im sorry wonwoo i still love u 
> 
> u can remind me to write the other ships on twt lol @wonhaosoo


End file.
